Report: AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Sunderland

Lee Cattermole found the back of the net twice as Sunderland came from behind for the third time this season to secure a hard-fought win at AFC Wimbledon.

Sunderland Line-up:

McLaughlin

James Loovens Baldwin Oviedo

Power Cattermole

Gooch Honeyman Maguire

Maja

Unchanged from the 4-1 win at Gillingham in the week, Sunderland started lethargically and fell behind just nine minutes in. Andy Barcham beat Donald Love out wide before finding Joe Piggot with a pinpoint cross, the Wimbledon frontman volleyed in past Jon McLaughlin to give the hosts a lead they deserved.

Liam Trotter fired a decent chance over the bar soon after, it looked set to be a long afternoon for Sunderland. The interval came at a good time for the visitors who had been a few yards off the pace in the first period.

HT: AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Sunderland AFC

The visitors came out with a lot more positivity and began to piece together the sort of moves which had helped them score seven goals in the last two matches. The goal scoring responsibility in this match coming from a player you’d least expect. Lyndon Gooch played a cross into the box and after his initial attempt was blocked by Will Nightingale, Lee Cattermole was on hand to stab home from close range to bring equilibrium back to the score line. 1-1 with just over twenty minutes remaining.

Under Jack Ross Sunderland have become a tough unit to break down, they showed more of their unwillingness to lie down and with just over five minutes left the turnaround was completed in some style. Chris Maguire cut in and played the ball into space at the back post. Cattermole volleyed a sweet strike across Tom King in the Wombles goal for his and Sunderland’s second of the afternoon. 1-2 and the 700 or so travelling Mackems were once again enjoying life on the road. After three games in six days it could have been the case that Sunderland ran out of steam in this one, however they seemed to grow as the final few minutes ticked over. This meant that their fourth win of the season was secured with few scares.

AFC Wimbledon 1-2 Sunderland AFC

It was arguably the worst performance of the season so far, but despite this the Black Cats came away from South London with another three points. It’s a credit to the resilience which Ross has installed into the team. On a different day the hosts could have been two or three up at the break but in the end Sunderland did just about enough for the three points. Its back to back home games now, starting with the visit of Oxford United on Saturday.